Lady Luck| Finan The Agile| The Last Kingdom

ELEVEN

He waved slightly in acknowledgement, disappearing amongst the trees and making his way back to Wulfrunetun.

I coughed loudly, reaching my hand up to cover my mouth before I shuddered again and wrapped my arms back around myself. 

Aelfwynn seemed to stir for a moment because of the noise, and she wheezed quietly, turning on her furs.

I stood up slowly from the stump of wood I had been sat on, carelessly kicking a pile of dirt over the small fire we had built to cook the soup. Then, still shivering, I crept back inside the tent. "Aelfwynn?"

The little girl did not respond, her face wet with sweat and her mouth slightly open as she struggled to breathe.

I sat down beside her, setting my hand over her forehead, my cold fingers warming against her burning skin.

She flinched at how cold I was, whining softly before turning away from me.

I shushed her calmly, trying to offer her some comfort as I lay down beside her, the heaviness pushing down on my head growing worse. "Everything will be alright." I draped my arm over her waist, "Your mother will be here soon and then, we'll go home..." I shuffled closer to her, closing my eyes slowly as my weariness grew too strong. "Not long now... not long at all..."

Darkness came quickly, and it was stifling and thick.

My chest ached with pain, and I found myself tossing and turning as I tried to find a way to breathe without using all of my strength. The sleep was not restful, but I could not wake either.

"Lady, I have..." a voice, strangely distant to my ears, called out, "Lady Cissa?"

I felt someone touch me as a hand settled on my shoulder and turned me over onto my back.

The person, I had to assume it was Osferth, took in a sharp breath, and drew his hand back hastily. "Lady, you are feverish. You have the sickness."

Had I been in good health, I would have made a witty comment about him stating the obvious, but instead, all I managed to do was open my eyes.

Osferth clutched something tightly in his hands, a vile of some kind, and he had a look of pure horror on his face.

I forced my mouth to move, choking out the only word I could think of, "Aelf...wynn."

Osferth glanced over me before scrambling back to his feet and rushing around me, this time collapsing beside Aelfwynn as well.

I flit my eyes to her as well, looking from the corner of them.

Osferth set his hand on her forehead and swallowed thickly before he crouched close to her nose, listening for her breathing.

"Well?" I muttered out, trying to find enough strength to move or turn, but it was pointless. My body was a rock stuck in the mud.

"She is barely breathing," Osferth whispered, looking over at me, "you are both barely breathing. What am I to do now?"

I moved my eyes to the vile he unintentionally waved around, "Give... give her... the medicine."

Osferth suddenly seemed to remember he had returned with a cure, and he looked at it, his eyes wide. "It is wormwood, Lady, I dare not to give it to her."

Aelfwynn wheezed softly, small gasps escaping her throat.

"You do not... have a choice," I muttered, my eyes drooping closed again, "she... is dying. She needs... a healer."

"They have no healer in the town," Osferth fret, unscrewing the top of the vile and giving it a small sniff before he shook his head. Reluctantly, he brought it to Aelfwynn's mouth and dribbled a bit of the liquid inside it.